A Past Rough Spent
by Aquatic Decendants
Summary: The title isn't that good, but basically, this is Percy's past life. Living with Gabe.
1. Chapter 1

_Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap._

"Homework?"

Percy stopped tapping the pencil and looked up from his math assignment. Paul Blofis was coming over for a sleepover and was sitting nervously on the other side of Percy. He had a black " _Batman Rules_ " shirt (which made Percy want to laugh) and blue jeans. He seemed cool, by the way Percy got to see him but so did...

"Yeah," Percy said, any trace of a smile gone. "Homework…"

Paul looked at the kitchen cabinets, observing every curve and line. Probably intimidated by Percy. _Good_ , Percy thought. "Do you need-?"

"No," Percy said sharply… and maybe a bit too quickly. He took a deep breath and continued slowly. "Thank you. But I can manage."

"Oh…" Paul said, looking down at the countertop "okay."

Percy looked back at the math work and started tapping the pencil in thought.

 _Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap._

" _Hey, Sally!" Gabe called for the fourth time that day. Percy glared back at him from the couch. "Bring back some beer and be useful, will ya?"_

" _Of course, hun," Sally said with a forced smile. She went out into the hallway and closed the door behind her. Percy looked at Gabe who was laughing about something inappropriate his poker buddies just said. The worst part was, it was about his mother._

" _You shouldn't talk about her like that," Percy growled. It was supposed to be for just his own ears, but Gabe heard him. He stopped laughing and turned on Percy. His eyes read that he was hitting the happy juice again already._

" _Do you have the call of the house now, brain boy?" Gabe slurred. Percy blushed and looked back at his homework. "Are ya ignoring me?"_ Duh _, Percy thought sarcastically._

" _No…" He grumbled under his breath._

 _Percy flinched as soon as he heard the scraping of a chair. He looked up and saw all of them staggering towards him. "Don't test me, kid. You're too weak to defend yourself," Gabe slurred at him._

 _Percy let out a shaky breath and put down his homework._ I just have to get to my room, that's all, _he thought. He got up. "Go back to your Poker game, forget that I said anything."_

 _Gabe pushed Percy away. "Trying to escape, eh?"_

" _Please, just leave me alone," Percy said, trying to avoid looking at his stepfather._

" _Scared?" Gabe asked and threw him hard into the wall. His Poker buddies laughed and some screamed 'push him again'. "You're a coward Percy Jackson."_

 _Percy felt grief take over him, forced the grief into anger and suppressed the anger. But he struggled to keep it down as Gabe pushed him again and his back banged on the wall. He brought his fist up and decked him in the nose. The others let out a series of 'ooo's as Percy stepped back. "I'm… I'm sorry! I-"_

 _Gabe's intense glare made Percy shrink back into the wall. "Ya think you're tough, uh?"_

" _No… no, I -"_

 _But Gabe punched Percy in the ribs, sending him hard on the floor. Gabe's friends laughed, and Gabe threw Percy to his bedroom door. He started gasping for air as the door swung open and came back and slammed him in the ribs. Tears started to burn in his eyes at the sharp pain._

" _Run then, Perseus! Run," Gabe taunted._

"Paul!" Percy called, jumping up from his chair as Paul wanted to exit the kitchen. He turned around, nervous and excited. "I - I…" Percy looked back at his pencil on the table trying to find his words. _Run then, Perseus! Run_. "My mom…" _Are ya ignoring me?_ "Don't… don't hurt her, okay?"

"Okay," Paul said.

"No," Percy replied. "Promise me… please."

 _Bring back some beer and be useful, will ya?_

"I promise," Paul said, a smile on his face. "You can count on me."

Percy smiled back, "Thank you."

Paul left the room and Percy was left alone to his own thoughts. _You shouldn't talk about her like that._

 _I promise. You can count on me._

 **You can review for more 'chapter-oneshots' if you like this. Sorry about Gabe by the way :)  
-Aquatic Decendants**


	2. Chapter 2

**To** ** _whydoyoureadthis_** **: I am planning on writing a separate story of 'A Past Rough Spent' where Sally, Paul, and Annabeth find out! So, keep your eyes peeled for those.**

 **And everything else! Here is another oneshot of the story.**

 _Clank. Clank. Clank. Clank._

Percy's converse shoes banged on the concrete sidewalk. His mother, Sally, was strolling beside him. The cars honked and swerved on the road, a gang of teenage girls laughed at some sort of unknown joke. Percy saw one of the girls slap her friend's shoulder and shriek between fits of giggles, "Like! Gurl, you did not." Percy rolled his eyes at the high school dramatics. Some hip-hop was playing out of cars' open windows along with death metal, pop, etc. Sally held an arm protectively around Percy's shoulders as they passed a crowd of smoking and tattooed men.

One of them grinned down at Percy, and Sally send them a warning glare. Finally, they came to a tall building and his mother steered him to the front door. They climbed up the steps and entered the building. They walked across the floor towards the elevators and Percy struggled to look at his mom. Their footsteps were the only sound between them. Finally they reached the elevator doors, and Sally clicked the 5th button. Percy listened to the hum of the elevator engines, feeling the pull as they rose to the fifth floor.

"Your principal told me the reasons for your expulsion," Percy heard his mother speak. "Quite a list." She looked down at the bumping floor and Percy felt the guilt churn in his stomach.

"Mom, I -"

"Wait 'til we get home, Perce," Sally said, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. Percy looked back down at his feet. The rest of the elevator ride was a repeat of silence. _Ping_.

The elevator opened and the two of them streaked to the apartment. Sally injected her key into the lock of the door and it clicked open with a slight turn. The door opened and a gush of smoke overtook them. Percy almost threw up form the intoxicating fumes.

" _And the Yankees take lead, they're streaking ahead from the Giants…_ " The Yankees vs Giants game was playing on the TV screen. Shedding a blue light in the yellowish room. Five beer bottles were strewn across the living room and cigar buds were in various ashtrays and smudged on the walls.

"Sally!" a deep voice called from a poker table in the middle of the room. Gabe Ugliano. His hair was nearly gone, his beady eyes scanned them with distaste. A cigar was hanging from his lower lip. "'Our home early!"

The other players around the table snickered and Eddie smiled kindly at them.

"Yes, hun," Sally replied, and Percy felt even sicker. "I had to get Percy back from school earlier. He - it was a short termed day."

Gabe looked at Percy and glowered. "Brain Boy."

Percy tried to keep himself cool. He replied in a not so heroic voice, "Hi, G-Gabe."

Gabe seemed to take satisfaction in Percy's stuttering anxiety. "Short termed day, you say? School ends at 12:15 now?"

Sally glanced at Percy and said, "No. I'll explain to you tonight, darling. Go back to your Poker game and I'll bring you all a round of snacks."

"And beer?" Gabe asked.

Sally grimaced, "Gabe, please. There's a boy in the house. If you can just tone down on the liquor for today, at least?"

Gabe didn't seem impressed by her comment and started to get up. Percy inched closer to his mom, trying to his best to protect her from his stepdad. Gabe caught sight of his actions and grinned, baring his crooked teeth. "Beer, snacks, _now_."

Sally nodded and turned to Percy. "We'll talk soon. Go to your bedroom, for now, sweetheart." She playfully ruffled his hair and walked off to the kitchen.

Percy grimaced and tried to sneak by his stepdad. When he arrived in front of his door, Gabe called after him, "Do you think I'm stupid?"

Part of Percy wanted to say, _of course_. But instead, he turned and faced his stepfather. He saw his mom's anxious face in the kitchen as she gathered up food. "With your smart mouth, you got expelled. Didn't ya?"

Percy just stared ahead, scared to speak.

"Do you even have ears?" Gabe started to get angry, and if there was one thing Percy knew, angry drunks weren't safe. "Or are ya ignoring me?"

Percy's eyes darted from his stepfather to his mom. Back and forth looking for an answer. Finally, he said, "I - I was expelled."

Gabe turned on his mother, who was trying to avoid eye contact. "You lying to me, now?"

"Please don't take this out on her!" Percy blurted. "I - I told her t-to lie about it. Leave her out of it… p-please?"

Gabe glared at him. Eddie straightened up and said, "Come now, Gabe. Leave the kid alone. Besides, you got some money in your wallet that belongs to me."

That caught Gabe's attention. He let out a bellow of laughter and slurred, "Ya kiddin', Edd? You still owe me a twenty."

Percy sighed and entered his bedroom. He closed the door and slid down it onto the floor. He took a deep breath, which wasn't a good idea. He breathed in a lung full of smoke. He coughed a bit, and shot up form the sour-smelling carpet. He sat down on his bed and tried to ignore the constant slurs of Gabe and his drunk friends.

" _And that's a homerun for the Yankees! The crowd is going wild._ "

 **I have no clue if that game ever happened but oh well! Review for more.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello readers! Here is another oneshot. Thought this would be a bit more... interesting.**

 _Ring, ring_.

The bell of the candy store chimed as an elderly woman stepped in. Percy was sitting on a red plastic chair in between the counter and a carton of sour worms. He watched the old lady limp to the middle aisle, while his mother was handing a man and his daughter a receipt. Percy stared back at his hands. He's been expelled from Grundings for a week by now and his mom still couldn't find him a new school to attend. The bell rang again and two little boys raced to the last aisle.

"Are you sure we should gather so much?" the first boy asked. He looked younger than the second boy but had the same mischievous grin plastered on his face.

"Calm down, Connor! I sto - I mean, _dad_ gave me enough money for a few handfuls," the elder one replied. "Get us some of those jelly beans over there!"

The younger one, Connor, nodded his head enthusiastically and skipped to the jelly bean aisle. Percy got a small smile on his face. It would've been nice to have a father, to have a brother even. He wished he could talk to them, maybe _finally_ make some friends. The two boys scurried to his mom and she smiled widely as they laid the candy on the counter. The older one didn't seem that impressed with paying. But as soon as they did, they gathered their stuff and hopped out the door as another family entered.

Percy turned his attention back to his mom, who was helping the elderly woman he saw come in a while ago. Percy looked at the cream-colored ceiling, bored of just waiting around. "How ya doing, Percy?"

Sally's voice made his eyes dart back to the front desk. As soon as he registered her question, he shrugged and looked at the giant displays on the walls. _Ring, ring_. The bell rang again and Percy didn't even bother to look. He just kept his attention on his mom. Finally, he looked back at the candy aisles and nearly yelped. But that didn't stop him from jumping in his chair.

A punk girl was talking to a blond boy there. She seemed so intimidating, Percy thought she'd wrench his soul out and sell it for Green Day records. A young girl stood close to the blond boy. Holding his hand and scanning the store. She had scary grey eyes and honey blonde hair. Her gaze fell upon him and he looked away. He hated to be stared at. He spared a glance at the trio and saw her whisper to Leader-Blond. He looked at Percy while the punk girl hissed something at the little girl that sounded oddly like, " _No pointing, only I do that!_ "

Whatever it was, it resulted in the young girl sticking her tongue out at her. It took a while for Percy to realize Leader-Blond still looking at him. Percy flushed and looked back at his mom who was talking to the family from earlier.

He felt the intense gaze drop and looked back.

Percy didn't know why, but he felt like they were gonna be something crucial. Like they were important, even now. He watched them walk down the aisle as another horde of children came crashing in. The family walked out as their daughter smiled widely, sharing a few pieces of candy with her mom and dad. Percy couldn't help but notice the young blond girl looking at the family with longing.

His eyes darted from the family to the girl. What was so special about them?

Percy's eyes traveled to Leader-Blond and Punk-Rock who was fighting over a red vine. He squinted at the two of them and looked back at his mom.

"Sally, your shift is done in ten minutes," a man said from behind her. "Better wrap it all up, and I'll take it from here."

"Okay, Mr. Saunders," Sally said and closed the cash register. She whispered something Mr. Saunders and headed off to the back room. A man stepped into the candy store and walked over to the chocolate bars. For a second Percy thought it might be a movie star by his leather jacket and familiar look. He just shrugged it off as he heard him whisper to himself.

He paid for a Twix and left the store. Punk-Rock, Leader-Blond, and Grey-Eyes walked out of the aisle again. Punk-Rock was yelling at Leader-Bond, slapping his shoulder every now and again. Percy furrowed his brow at their actions. But as soon as they walked out of the candy store, he just thought of them as customers. Nothing special.

"Ready to go home?" Sally asked from beside him, bearing a bag of blue candies.

"Sure, mom," Percy smiled, getting up from the chair and taking her hand.

 _Ring, ring_.

 **:) Hope you like! Review and all that and remember to read 'The Perfect Brother' for some comfort of the last two sad chapters. And yes Da Falcon... damn Gabe to** ** _Tartarus_** **.**

 **-Aquatic Decendants**


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